Evidence: | Letter dated 24/4/1862 ? 'The reason I said I had never understood the story of Cain is that God?s own words to him [Genesis, IV, vv.6-7] are of much more importance to me than St Paul?s words about him [Hebrews, XI, v. 4] ? (which latter are rapid ? vague, and unless you know precisely what is meant by faith, inconclusive.) God?s own pleading with Cain is what I want to understand. Why art thou wroth ? If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted ? if not ? sin lieth at the door - &c. What is the ?Doing well? which God speaks of? What is the meaning of sin?s lying at the door ? and what is meant by the promise following. ?Unto thee shall be his desire?, &c? The passage is rendered still more difficult by an important variation in the Septuagint, (which I almost always find clearly more trustworthy than either the vulgate or English) ? namely in verse 7. ?Has not thou sinned, in that thou hast rightly brought, but not rightly divided.? The ordinary Evangelical gloss, that Cain was wrong in bringing fruit instead of flesh, seems at variance with this ?rightly brought?; and St Paul?s words leave us wholly in darkness as to the nature of the faithlessness, whether in substance or offering, or in manner.' |
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Century: | 1800-1849, 1850-1899 | ||||||||||
Date: | unknown | ||||||||||
Country: | Probably Britain | ||||||||||
Time: | n/a | ||||||||||
Place: | n/a | ||||||||||
Type of Experience (Reader): |
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Type of Experience (Listener): |
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Reader: | John Ruskin |
Age | Adult (18-100+) |
Gender | Male |
Date of Birth | 8 Feb 1819 |
Socio-economic group: | Professional / academic / merchant / farmer |
Occupation: | writer and art critic |
Religion: | Christian |
Country of origin: | England |
Country of experience: | Probably Britain |
Listeners present if any: (e.g. family, servants,
friends, workmates) |
n/a |
Additional comments: | n/a |
Author: | |
Title: | The Bible |
Genre: | Bible |
Form of Text: | Print: Book |
Publication details: | n/a |
Provenance: | unknown |
Record ID: | 3557 | |
Source - | ||
Author: | John Ruskin | |
Editor: | Virginia Surtees | |
Title: | Sublime and Instructive. Letters from John Ruskin to Louisa, Marchioness of Waterford, Anna Blunden and Ellen Heaton | |
Place of Publication: | London | |
Date of Publication: | 1972 | |
Vol: | n/a | |
Page: | 43-44 | |
Additional comments: | From letter dated 245/4/1862 to Louisa, Marchioness of Waterford. |
Citation: | John Ruskin, Virginia Surtees (ed.), Sublime and Instructive. Letters from John Ruskin to Louisa, Marchioness of Waterford, Anna Blunden and Ellen Heaton (London, 1972), p. 43-44, http://can-red-lec.library.dal.ca/Arts/reading/recorddetails2.php?id=3557, accessed: 23 April 2024 |
Reading Experience Database version 2.0. Page updated: 27th Apr 2016 3:15pm (GMT)